


cornucopia

by TheSpaceCoyote



Series: Huxloween 2019 [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alpha Kylo Ren, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Autumn, Family Feels, Fluff, Good Dad Armitage Hux, Good Dad Kylo Ren, Implied Mpreg, M/M, Married Life, Omega Armitage Hux, Soft Kylux, apple picking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-10-30 10:56:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20770742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSpaceCoyote/pseuds/TheSpaceCoyote
Summary: Hux, Kylo, and their four kids enjoy a quiet afternoon of apple picking. But while Kylo thinks he's in for a relaxing time with his family, Hux has a surprise that might turn things on their head.





	cornucopia

**Author's Note:**

> Just some sweet fluff to ring in the fall season. I missed my Huxlings something fierce, and I really wanted to write something sweet and low-stakes involving them again. Enjoy!
> 
> For Huxloween Day 4: "Orchard."

Kylo carefully brings the car to a stop in one corner of the little dirt lot, easing the parking brake on. There’s not too many other people visiting the orchard today, which is strange considering they planned their trip right in the middle of apple-picking season, but Kylo feels relieved he won’t have to vie for good spots with other parents, even if he’s pretty sure he could take them. But it’s always better to avoid any hassle, especially with the kids around, so Kylo’s happy for their good luck. Instead of elbowing through the crowds to salvage a couple of trodden or under-ripe apples, it looks like they’ll have most of the orchard to themselves for the day.

Beside him, Hux stirs with a grunt. He’d started nodding off near the tail end of the drive, head eventually tipping to the side to rest against the car window. Honestly, Kylo doesn’t blame him for being sleepy. All morning Hux had prepared for their trip, insisting on making the sandwiches and assembling the picnic basket himself. It was usually Kylo’s job to do all the cooking, even if cheese sandwiches and bagged snacks didn’t require all that much prep-work and skill, but he’d let Hux do it. But as a result, his husband is now a little sleepier than he’d usually be at midday. 

“We’re here?” Hux yawns, rubbing his eye as Kylo passes him his own coffee tumbler. Hux’s travel mug is empty in the cupholder, so he takes a grateful sip and for once doesn’t wrinkle his nose at the taste of the sweet, creamy coffee that Kylo prefers. 

“And in good time, too,” Kylo says as he unbuckles his seatbelt. “Looks like we beat the rush.”

He lets Hux take his time, stepping out of the car and opening the backseat to tend to the kids. Amelie and Sylmar have already unbuckled their seatbelts and are raring to go, practically jumping into Kylo’s arms as soon as he slides the door open. 

“Easy, easy!” Kylo tries to keep his voice good-natured even as he wrangles with the more rambunctious pair of twins, managing to lift them both in the air before settling their feet on the ground. “You two help papa with the picnic stuff, alright?”

“Aww, but why?” Amelie sticks her lower lip in a pout that looks too much like Kylo’s own. “We wanna look at the apples! We’ll find the best spot, promise!”

“All the spots are good spots,” Kylo explains, giving his twins a pat on the shoulder as Hux finally ambles out of the car. “Right, Papa?”

“This _ is _ the top-rated orchard in the area,” Hux muses, blinking rapidly to clear away the remaining fogginess in his eyes. Kylo can almost see the extra caffeine working overtime in his brain. “Come, darlings. I’ll let you pick out your baskets.”

With the older twins finally distracted, Kylo leans back inside the car to retrieve his last two kids. In contrast to their siblings, Leander and Aeon sit rather patiently in the furthest row of seats, though probably due in part to the fact that they’re both still in their safety seats. Aeon is more than a little wiggly and giggly as he fiddles with her restraints, babbling something about how her picture books told her worms lived in apples, and that she was going to find all the worms and take them home in her basket instead. Beside her, Leander rubs at his eyes and lets out a soft noise before reaching for his dad. As soon as Aeon is free, Kylo works on getting him out of his safety seat, and before long he’s cradling both toddlers against his chest as the car door automatically clicks shut. 

“Need help, babe?” Kylo asks as he walks to the rear of the car, letting Aeon down on the asphalt to free up one hand. Leander curls up against his chest, grabbing onto the edge of his flannel and indicating he’s happy where he is. Kylo plants a kiss in his ginger hair. 

“Carry the drinks, will you?” Hux already has the picnic basket with the sandwiches clutched in one hand. At his feet, Amelie and Sylmar each carry their own baskets, the rustic ones Hux had bought at the craft store, and have taken to waving them around as they excitedly argue over who is going to collect the most apples the fastest. 

“Sure thing.” Kylo retrieves the soft cooler from the trunk, and after letting Hux double check that they have everything, nudges it closed. 

Once they get out of the parking lot, Kylo can see why this orchard is the most highly rated one in their area—it’s absolutely gorgeous. He almost feels like he’s walked out of the real world and into some idyllic, pastoral postcard. Golden sunlight dusts the trees, glinting on the full emerald leaves and the rich, rosy apples hanging heavy and ripe from the branches. The air smells of fresh soil and fragrant blossoms not yet developed into fruit, and fills with the distant chirping of birds and the giggles of Amelie and Sylmar as they run ahead, fallen leaves crunching under their sneakers. Aeon walks hand and hand with Hux, pointing out every butterfly and bee that hums over the grass or lands on the branches low to the ground. 

“This one, this one!” Sylmar calls, jabbing his finger towards a large, full tree before racing over to it, trying to beat his sister who’s already taken off with a war cry and a flail of her basket. Hux shouts warningly after them but Kylo just shakes his head. The oldest twins have always been rambunctious, ever since they first learned to walk, and Kylo doubts they’ll mellow out any time soon. He usually just tells Hux to wait until they tucker themselves out. 

The kids plunk their baskets down beside the trunk of the tree and immediately start to grab for the apples within reach. Amelie and Sylmar throw themselves headlong into their impromptu competition, while Hux steers Aeon a bit further away from them to help her fill the little basket that she’d decorated with glittery sticks of cartoon bugs. Kylo adjusts his hold on Leander and opts for a totally different tree, knowing his youngest is a lot shyer and more easily startled than any of his siblings. 

“Leander? You wanna try to pick one?” Kylo asks slowly, looking from the plump, shiny apples hanging from the tree to his son, who has popped a thumb into his mouth. Leander glances at the tree, then shakes his head with a worried pinch of his little brows. 

“Aww. C’mon, dad’s not tall enough to get the ones at the top.” Kylo sticks his arm out in the air, helplessly waving it just below a particularly rich-looking apple. “See?” He puts on an exaggerated frown, lower lip stuck out. “You gotta lend him a hand.”

“...I’ll try…” Leander mumbles around his thumb. He squirms in Kylo’s arms, still looking a bit unsure but nevertheless emboldened by the idea that his dad needed his help specifically. After a moment to make sure he’s secure, Kylo carefully hoists Leander up onto his shoulders, putting him almost at eye-level with the apple. The boy hesitates for a moment, looking down at his dad for guidance. Kylo gives an encouraging nod and a smile, which seems to do the trick, as Leander reaches forward and carefully plucks 

“Alright, now..._apple me! _” Kylo opens his mouth wide and tilts his chin up. Leander giggles, leaning over his dad’s head to wedge the apple between his sharp teeth. Kylo lets out a satisfied grunt, and nods his head in approval. 

“Papa, look! Daddy likes the apples,” Aeon giggles and points at Kylo, momentarily distracted from filling her basket.

Hux follows her finger, frowning once he sees what’s going on. “Kylo, get that out of your mouth. We need to _ wash _ those before eating them.”

Kylo lets out a muffled protest, sinking his fangs into the apple with a juicy _ crunch_. Hux rolls his eyes. 

“If you get ill, I’m leaving you here.”

Kylo takes a huge bite of the apple, finally removing it from his mouth as he chews the fruit and smiles. 

“Worth it.” He says with his cheeks full, getting a soft laugh out of Leander. 

From then on the boy opens up a little bit, growing more excited to pick all the apples within reach. Kylo holds the little basket up to his chest so Leander can drop each one he picks into it, making sure not to let any of them fall. Hux eventually drifts over to check in on his youngest, leaving Aeon to examine the ants crawling over the bruised apples on the ground and Amelie and Sylmar to fill up their papa’s basket, having already packed their own to the brim. 

“I see you two have been busy.” Hux leans in to kiss Kylo’s nose, before planting his lips on Leander’s chin when Kylo crouches down low enough for him to reach. “We’re going to have more apples than we know what to do with.”

Kylo smirks and shrugs his shoulders. “I dunno about that, babe. Four kids with five days of school lunches will make them go quick. And I could always send you off to work with a couple.”

“That sounds like a quick way to grow sick of apples altogether,” Hux says, but a smile belies his sour words. Atop Kylo’s shoulders, Leander wiggles, little hands reaching out to his papa. Hux’s eyes soften, green-gold matching the tree leaves glimmering in the sunlight. Kylo can’t resist leaning in to give him one more, gentle kiss, before handing Leander off to him. 

The afternoon passes like some pleasant dream Kylo has had in the past. The shadows of the trees grow long on the grass as the sun sinks towards the horizon, turning the sky a rosy gold spotted with wispy clouds. Though a couple more families show up from time to time, they mostly have the entire orchard to themselves, and they take full advantage of it. Kylo plays a game with Amelie and Sylmar, chasing them between the trees as the “apple monster,” determined to take their hauls for himself, while Aeon and Hux—Leander in his arms—scout out a good spot for the picnic. Once Kylo has finally been “defeated” and pelted in the stomach with at least one projectile apple, he lets the older twins latch onto his wrists and drag him over to a small grassy clearing in the middle of the orchard. Hux has draped the yellow fleece blanket onto the ground there, anchoring all four corners with a heavy basket of apples each. He rifles through the drink cooler, passing a juice box to Aeon and a little plastic bottle of milk to Leander. 

Thankfully Sylmar and Amelie let go of Kylo’s wrists in order to grab their own drinks, allowing him to sit down on the blanket right beside Hux. Kylo takes a moment to admire his husband as Hux rifles through the picnic basket. He really looks beautiful in the afternoon sun, all the golden light in the sky making his body glow with life. Kylo is happy Hux went without his usual styling gel today—his hair looks so much softer and silkier when he wears it down, brushing against his forehead and drifting in the calm breeze. 

Kylo wants to kiss him, but when he leans in to lay one on Hux’s cheek he’s met with the blunt end of a wrapped baguette. 

“Let’s feed the kids first, Romeo,” Hux chides mirthfully, shoving another sandwich and a couple bags of snacks into Kylo’s arms before he can try anything further. 

Eventually, they all settle down on the blanket, even the always-rambunctious Amelie and Sylmar pacified by the promise of food. With each kid happily munching on their sandwiches and snacks Kylo decides they ought to sample the literal fruits of their labor, and leans over to grab one of the baskets. 

After washing them off with a couple splashes from the water bottle at Hux’s insistence, Kylo uses his pocket knife to cut the biggest and ripest apples for the kids, arranging the slices onto their plates and occasionally popping one into a waiting mouth. When Leander shyly asks if he can have his without the skin, Kylo makes a show of it, before tossing the peel into the grass for the sparrows to nibble on. 

Once the kids have their food, Kylo picks out two rosy pink apples for himself and Hux before deciding to save the rest. He’s already imagining everything he could do with the extra fruit back home—pies, tarts, preserves, maybe even make some sparkling apple cider if he can figure out the recipe. He knows Hux is particularly fond of the crisp, alcoholic version he has Kylo buy from the grocery store around this time of year. 

Honestly, now that he thinks about it, home-made apple cider might make a great Christmas present. Kylo will have to jot that down on his list. 

With their bellies full, the kids apparently decide a nap is in order. Though he loves them all, Kylo is a little grateful for the quiet as they curl up, Amelie and Sylmar still chatting sleepily to each other while Aeon and Leander snuggle together under a spare Purdue sweatshirt. The breeze that ruffles through the orchard is nice and brisk, neither too warm nor too cold. Everything is so pleasant and calm it almost seems unreal. Kylo can hardly imagine what could make this day any more perfect. 

A tap to the wrist. Kylo looks up from where he’s cutting up another apple for himself, and meets Hux’s eyes. 

“Grab our sandwiches, will you? I’m famished.” There’s a twinkle of something mischievous and maybe a bit nervous in Hux’s soft expression, which briefly throws Kylo for a loop before he wonders if it’s just a trick of the light. He nods and scoots closer to the basket, finding the last two sandwiches waiting neatly wrapped for them at the bottom. He picks both up without a second thought, but pauses when he notices something odd sitting beneath them. 

At first, Kylo can’t exactly place what it is. It looks like a slightly crinkled piece of glossy paper with something blurry and grey printed on it. He furrows his brow and sets the sandwiches aside on the blanket, reaching into the basket to pull the paper out. His confusion deepens, only to release like air out of a balloon when he lifts it into the sunlight. His heart stops, lips parting in shock.

It’s a _ sonogram. _

Kylo stares at the grainy picture until his vision goes a little fuzzy, either with tears or because he’s so stunned that he can’t manage to close his eyes to keep them from watering. He finally remembers to blink as he rests the picture in his lap, and now he knows the blurriness in his eyes is definitely due to the beginnings of a happy cry. 

Kylo glances at Hux when his husband shifts to sit closer to him. Hux has a hand cupped to his belly, though it still lies perfectly flat beneath his soft linen shirt. His golden lashes kiss halfway over his eyes, making him look even more ethereal than normal. Now Kylo knows why. 

“I never surprised you with the others. You knew as soon as I did,” Hux carefully strokes a corner of the sonogram, joy rising unfettered to his lips. “But I wanted to do something special for this one.”

For a moment, Kylo can’t respond. He’s finally taken his eyes off the sonogram, but now he can’t stop looking at Hux, from the pale hand resting against his belly to his perfect, lightly freckled face. Hux’s smile flickers with a bit of concern, and he cocks his head.

“Kylo? Is...is this alright? I know we have four, but I just got that promotion at work, and the doctor says it’s most likely not twins this time, so don—”

Hux gasps as Kylo suddenly surges forward, leaving the sonogram to flutter into his lap as he pulls them together into a firm hug. After a moment Hux lets out a soft, relieved chuckle and hugs Kylo back, patting his strong shoulder as it shakes with emotion. 

“You big, over-sentimental lug...thankfully, you make for a _ wonderful _ father.” Hux gets a little misty-eyed himself at that, turning to nuzzle one of his husband’s large ears. When Kylo lifts his head and tries to kiss him again, this time Hux doesn’t stop him.

“Have you told the kids?” Kylo asks in a rush once their lips part, mind still running a mile a minute. He’s marvelling at how Hux was able to keep this a secret so well. He can’t believe he could’ve been so dense as to not notice the change in scent, or any of the other signs, but he _ has _ been busy prepping the kids for back-to-school, and Hux has been out of the house a lot thanks to his new position. 

“No, not yet. You’re the first I’ve told...apart from Phasma.” Hux smirks at Kylo’s quirked brow. “You had the car that day, I needed someone to drive me to the appointment.”

Kylo can’t resist hugging him again. This time, he flops down on the blanket, dragging Hux down until they lie facing each other. His hand finds his husband’s belly, fingertips brushing in between the buttons of his shirt to feel his warm skin. There’s not any more to feel than there is to see, but Kylo remembers well how quickly Hux’s body changes with pregnancy. Before long, there will be an adorable belly to kiss, followed by the patter of little kicks as Hux goes through the months getting rounder and bigger and even more gorgeous than he already is. It doesn’t matter that Kylo’s been through this several times before already; the thought of doing it all over again still sends waves of affection and excitement through his chest. 

He already thought his family was perfect. But it could only get even more perfect with each new addition.

Kylo kisses Hux again, parting to rest their foreheads together. “I can’t believe it. Another little pup on the way. Hux…” Kylo locks their eyes, and can’t stop his own from crinkling when he smiles. His cheeks are almost hurting with sheer joy. “You’re so amazing.”

Hux lets out a soft, contented sigh at the compliment like he already knows it, and nuzzles against Kylo’s bristling stubble. 

“So how are we going to tell them?” He says after enjoying the moment, with a nod towards the sleeping children. “Obviously, you can be in on it this time.”

“Oh?” Kylo tucks a wayward piece of hair behind Hux’s ear and brushes a fallen leaf off his shoulder, doing little adjustments to try to calm his runaway heartbeat. “You’re not just going to blurt it out like you did when you told Sylmar and Amelie they were going to be older siblings?”

“It’s a little fun to get creative with these. I imagine this is how you feel when you’re busying yourself around the house or making those little lunchboxes or working on your projects.” True, Kylo is usually the more artistic one, so he’s a bit excited that he seems to be rubbing off on his husband. 

“Well, we’ve got all these apples,” Kylo twines their legs together, thigh between Hux’s knees, and feels slender fingers brush against the hand he has against Hux’s belly. “I’ve got a cake recipe I’ve been dying to try. Maybe we can write the big reveal on the top.”

Hux’s smile grows wider. “That sounds like a lovely idea.” He guides Kylo’s hand over his belly, letting his eyes fall closed with the feeling. “You know I always crave your baking like mad when I’ve a bun in the oven.”

They leave not long after the kids wake back up, quickly packing the remains of the picnic and hauling the baskets full of apples back towards the car. Kylo drives just as carefully as he always does, especially since the sun is starting to sink, but he can’t help but take the occasional glance sideways to watch Hux as he sleeps in the passenger’s seat, both hands at home atop his belly.

Kylo might have to amend a couple of his plans. He hopes Hux will be just as happy if he gets some _ non_-alcoholic apple cider for Christmas.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if you want to see more of this family! I always feel a little odd writing about them, since they're OCs. But I do love them a lot!
> 
> Hit me up on [Tumblr](http://thethespacecoyote.tumblr.com) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/heir_of_breath7/).


End file.
